When hope dies, and survives
by Li-Li-ThePinkbookgirl
Summary: Dickon died in war,and now Colin and Mary are married.What hppens when Colin turns into his old whiny self again? Will the marriage survive? RandR! Complete
1. beginning

**Okay, my second story, and first story in Secret Garden series. You will all have to mind the accents, I can't write accents very well, or really at all, so anyone who is supposed to have a accent, I tried my best. I hope you all like this story, and understand, I AM NOT BASHING COLIN, I just like Colin and Mary stories. Okay, enough talking, ENJOY!**

Mary looked out the window at the rain softly pattering on the window plane, matching her mood right now. Mary was now 18 years old, and Colin's wife.

She never really thought that she would ever marry her cousin, but somehow she did. Dickon had joined the army when she was 16, and never came back, which left her heartbroken. Dickon wasn't just her best friend, but she always thought that she might marry him, maybe. But when the news arrived that he had died in combat, she went into a long depression. No one, not even Martha, could comfort her.

After about two months of depression, Colin invited to take her out to the garden, where they spent the entire day weeding and watering to help the flowers bloom again. The garden helped Mary move on, and to realize that life goes on after tragedy, even the most horrible.

When Mary finally came out of her depression, Colin started courting her, with flowers and dinners. Mary started to see Colin in a different light, besides the poor, sickly, cousin that she had always held onto, even when he started walking and getting better. Mary started to see Colin as perhaps a husband, someone she could be content with, and who would always keep a roof over her head. When Colin finally proposed, one year after Dickon had died, Mary of course said yes. They were married a couple months later, in the garden that held so many memories.

Mary and Colin's marriage was fine after they're honeymoon, with Mary enjoying working in the garden, and Colin learning about business. But then Mr. Carver left to go to America for business, which turned out to be longer then anyone had thought. Mr. Carver was forced to buy a estate in America to live in, making Colin the lord of the estate, and Mary the head of taking care of servants and such.

Mary and Colin were fine in running Misselthwaite, but then Colin started to act strange, staying in bed all day,and having the servants cater to his every need. Mary was among the people who had to fluff his pillows, bring him all his meals in bed, rub his feet, read him books, write things for him, keep the fire fed, change his sheets, and just pamper him all day long. Mary continued to sleep in they're bedroom, but when Colin would ask her to get him tea in the middle of the night, she moved back to her old bedroom.

All of this had been going on for about 8 months, and she was tired of it. Colin was turning back into the poor, sickly, whiny boy that he was when Mary came here. And it seemed to Mary that Colin didn't love her anymore. He treated her just like a servant, wouldn't even say thank you. Colin didn't even kiss Mary unless HE wanted to, which was when he was the most annoying. Mary hadn't said anything all this time, just holding her tongue and doing as she was told. Finally, Mary just stayed in her bedroom all day, only leaving when she could go to the garden, which since it was winter now, wasn't very often. And that was why Mary was in a sad mood today.

Suddenly, while Mary was looking out the window, there was a knock at the door. It was Martha, with a message that 'Master Colin wanted her. Mary sighed. Colin probably just wanted her to read him a book, or something. She nodded to Martha, and started to walk to Colin's bedroom, not looking forward to it.

**Okay, how do you all like it?! Just a suggestion, REVIEW PLEASE! I want input, praise, ideas, or even constructive criticism, but only small flames. THANK YOU!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Li Li**


	2. false hope

**Here's the next chapter, and I did add talking in this one, so please mind the accents, THANKS! Enjoy!**

Mary walked to Colin's door and knocked. She heard a muffled 'come in', and opened the door. Colin was laying in bed, with a empty pile of dishes beside his bed, along with a large cup of tea and some books. He was writing something down, and looked up when Mary came in.

Colin smiled. "Ah, Mary, I'm glad you're here, I want to show you something. Come here" he said motioning with his hand. Mary walked over to him, and he pointed to a large box on the floor beside his bed.

"Open it" he said. Mary did as she was told, and pulled the lid off, and saw a large bunch of red silk fabric in the box. She pulled it out and saw that it was a dress, and a very beautiful dress at that. It was a deep red, with gold colored lace and trim. Mary was stunned. Colin never gave her gifts anymore.

Colin pointed to a changing screen. "Put it on, I want to see what it looks like on you".

Mary nodded and walked behind the screen to change. When she was done, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She had to say, she looked quite good in this dress. The sleeves showed her shoulders, while they reached her elbow. Mary always thought that dresses that showed shoulders looked horrible, but this dress made her look elegant, without looking trashy.

Mary walked out to show Colin, and he motioned for her to come closer and turn around. She did, and he looked her over and nodded with approval. Mary was expecting him to say something, but he just went back to his writing.

Mary was disappointed, but had a question that needed to be answered. "Colin?" she said

Colin murmured something, so Mary said "Why did you buy me this dress?".

Colin looked up at her, with a look of puzzlement. "You don't remember?" he asked, "The harvest time ball is next week, and I need you to go to it, to make certain that the Carver name is held high, and that no one is making jokes at our family." Colin went back to his writing, leaving a very puzzled Mary before him.

So that was what he was up to. Colin didn't buy Mary the dress just for her, he wanted to make her a spy at the ball, and to show off the Carver status. Mary was upset, but not quite as surprised as she thought she would be. This was how Colin had been acting for six months, no affection or love anywhere, so why would he suddenly buy her a dress for no reason except to show her off to the other high ranking family's in the area.

Mary stared at Colin for a few moments, silently shouting at him in her mind. He looked at up at her. "What do you want? You have your dress".

Mary shook her head. " No I don't need anything, and I don't expect you to do anything nice or thoughtful anymore."

Mary turned and ran from the room, tears running down her cheeks. Mary burst into her bedroom, and collapsed onto her bed, sobbing. Colin only seemed to think of her as a item to show off to people, not his wife. Mary didn't leave her bedroom all day, not wanting to deal with anyone right now, until someone knocked on her door.

**Okay, not much of a cliffhanger, but I just thought that I would try to leave a little suspense. Again, I AM NOT BASHING COLIN! Everything turns out in the end, just after some interesting things and events. PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Till the next chapter, Li Li**


	3. a speaker of hope

**HI! I hope that you all like this chapter, im sorry for the delay, but with the holidays, and the fact that i caught a cold, but enough excuses, here's this chapter, ENJOY!**

Mary lay on her bed, hoping that whoever was at the door would just go away, but the door opened, and Martha walked in. She had a look of concern on her face. She walked over to where Mary laid on her bed and sat down.

"Oh miss Mary, one of the maids told me that she saw you run from master Colin's room crying, so I came up to see what was wrong."

Mary sniffed. But then sat up, and poured out what happened to Martha. Martha listened to every word, her look of concern deepening. When Mary was through, she had started to sob again. Martha held Mary as she sobbed, slowly rubbed her back.

"Oh miss Mary, oh dear. I knew that master Colin had become demanding, but I didn't think that he had become heartless too" Martha shook her head, "You shouldn't stand for this kind of behavior from your husband. You two are equals, and you both took vows to love each other, and Colin isn't keeping his promise very well."

Mary sat up, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes, and looked at Martha. "I don't believe that Colin really loves me anymore." Mary stared out the window. "He used to hug me whenever I came back from the garden, and he would just sit staring at me while I read, sometimes driving me crazy while because he stared at me for so long. I remember he bought me a necklace when we were married for a month. It was in the shape of a heart, and it was inscribed with my name, and a flower. I lost it out in the garden though, and when I told Colin, he said that it was just a necklace, and that our love would never be lost", Mary smiled , but then frowned " I believed him, but now I don't really believe it that much now."

Martha suddenly grabbed Mary's hands in her own. "Now miss Mary, master Colin loves, even if he doesn't show it, or really think it, but deep down in his heart, he still loves you deeply, and will continue to till the day he dies," Martha let go of Mary's hands, stood up and headed for the door, but turned around just before she left. "You know miss Mary, I never thought of you as the type to put up with Colin's behavior, if my memory holds true. So, why don't you make Colin realize how stupid he's been acting, and remind him of how much you love each other." Martha smiled slightly, and then left.

Mary stayed on her bed thinking about what Martha had said. She was right, Mary hadn't stood for Colin's behavior when they were children, why should she stand for it now? Mary truly loved Colin, but now she had to remind him of how he loves her. Mary didn't know how to do that, though. She knew how to put Colin in his place when he used to be whiny when they were children, but things were different now. They were adults, so she couldn't just yell at him or anything. Then again, Colin was acting like a whiny, demanding, 10 year old brat, so why shouldn't she treat him like such.

Mary suddenly smiled. Now that was a thought, treat Colin like the way he's acting. Mary knew that she would need to be bold, and would need to plan a little, but she was slowly having a plan form in her mind, she just hoped that it was a good one.

**Oooooooh, what is Mary's plan? Oh the suspense! LOL. I hope that you all liked this, but since I'm not a mind reader, you need to REVIEW PLEASE! THANK YOU! Li Li**

**ps: I'll try to update on a regular routine again, but I still have no real idea how this story is going, so bear with me, bye!**


	4. hope's ill plan

**I am sorry that I haven't been updating (AGAIN) but I have a real hard time with writers block on this story, I am really making this up as I go along. Enough yappin, ENJOY!**

Mary stayed in her bedroom for the next couple of days, mostly reading and sometimes drawing. It was still raining out, so she couldn't really do anything, but she did figure out the details for her plan.

She would wait until Colin went into one of his rampages about being sick and weak, which he did every so often. Mary normally stayed away from him, but he always yelled for her to come fluff his pillows and bring him tea, not really acting sick. When he was like this, she would become the best nurse he had ever had. She would make sure that he was treated just like a sick person, being very motherly. Now that didn't really sound like a plan, but she would have to wait to put it in action.

Martha updated her everyday on how Colin was acting, to make sure that Mary found the right time. And today might be that day, hopefully.

Mary sat on her bed, reading poetry, when Martha suddenly burst in.

"Oh, miss Mary, Colin is goin' into one of his rampages again. He has been yelling for about 10 minutes that he is ill, and that he must have you to care for him" Martha gasped.

Mary smiled. Perfect. She hadn't told Martha her plan, so she put on her best worried look and said "Well then, I must go care for my sick husband." Mary stood up and put on her apron that made her look like a nurse, then headed to what used to be Colin and her's bedroom.

She heard his screaming before she even entered. Colin sounded like he was going through surgery or something. Mary found Dr Morris, Colin's doctor, when she entered, trying to check Colin's pulse, but failing. Mary liked Dr. Morris, he was very wise, so she had told him her plan, and his job was to stay away from Colin, let Mary care for him, and give helpful 'advice' according to what Mary said. When he saw Mary, he backed away from Colin, letting Mary run to Colin.

"Oh Colin, dear, what is the matter?" Mary asked in her best mother voice.

Colin calmed down when he saw her, and said "I am ill, but no one will care for me. They all think that I'm lieing."

"Oh, Colin." Mary felt his head, "Oh, you do feel warm. What you need is rest and tender loving care. I'll make certain that you are perfectly comfortable".

Colin smiled brightl, and gave all the servants a look that said "See, I told you so."

Mary went into action. She first shoed all the maids and Dr. Morris out of the room, claiming that she should take care of Colin since he was her husband. Then she fluffed all of Colin's pillows, and stoaked his fire. She then rubbed Colin's back until he fell asleep. When he was, she grabbed all his books that he enjoyed reading, all the papers that he wrote on, and all the empty tea cups, and hide them in her room. She then sent for Dr. Morris and he gave her all his 'medicines' that she was to use for Colin. Mary had actually made them in the kitchen out of the most horrible tasting herbs and vegetables she could find, and put them in cold medicine jars.

When Colin woke, she was closing the curtains. She looked over at him.

"Ah, I see you are up. I am closing the curtains to keep any spores out of the air, which will help you get better".

Colin didn't seem to notice that she used his old excuse to keep the windows shut, but instead said "I am feeling hungry now. Could you get me something to eat?"

"Of course dear, anything." Mary called a maid and told her to have the cook prepare a 'special' meal for Colin. The cook was also in on her plans, and was making the best meal a ill person could have. When Mary was done, she went back to Colin, who was sitting up.

"Oh, Colin, I almost forgot. Dr. Morris left you some medicines to help with your various symptoms. Lets see" she said lifting up some of the bottles, "We have medicine for headaches, backaches, stomachaches, sore throat, and runny nose."

Colin looked surprised, "I'm not that sick!"

"Well, Dr. Morris said that these are for your currant symptoms, and to help keep other symptoms away. Now open up," Mary filled a spoon with one of the 'medicines'.

Colin wrinkled his nose. "That smells awful! I don't want that."

"Well if you want to get better, you have to take them. Now open up."

Colin finally gave in, but the look of pure disgust on his face almost made Mary gag. She had tried all the medicines to see if they were horrible enough, and she almost threw up they were so bad. Colin gulped the 'medicine' down, and gave a sigh of relief, but then his face turned into horror when Mary told him that he had to take ALL the medicines. Colin gulped down all the medicines, each one as horrible as the next. When he was finally down, he looked like he wanted to throw up, but then Martha came in with his supper.

He beamed when he saw it. Martha placed the covered dish on his bedside table, gave them both a critical eye, then left. Colin eagerly took the cover off the tray, but then his face fell.

The cook's 'special' meal was herb soup, a grapefruit, and a cup of water. The cook had said that this was the meal she served to all sick people, it helped them get up the will to get better faster. Mary put her hand over her nose. The soup smelled awful, and from what she tasted, it WAS awful.

Colin stared at the plate, and then at Mary. "What is THIS?" he asked.

"That is the food you are to have at EVERY meal to help your get better faster." Colin's face was of pure horror. When he wouldn't move, Mary grabbed the spoon, got some soup into it, and placed it at Colin's lips. "Open wide, you have to eat this, unless you want to starve."

Mary sounded harsher then she wanted, but Colin slowly opened his mouth, and Mary shoved the spoon into his mouth.

He looked like he wanted to spit it up, but he swallowed it, then almost gagged, and gulped his water down. Mary got another spoonful, and Colin once again almost gagged. This went on until the bowl was empty, then Colin took a bite of grapefruit, and spit it out. Mary spoon fed him this also, with Colin's look id distress deepening with each bite.

Mary had to admit, prisoners ate better. She didn't ant to now what was in the soup, but she was pretty sure that eating grapefruit afterwards was horrible. Colin leaned back in his bed, moaning. Mary almost felt sorry for him, after swallowing all that horrible 'medicine' and food, but she had to stick to her plan, or else Colin would never learn.

Colin looked around. "Where are my books? I want something to read."

"Oh, no dear", Mary explained, trying to sound worried, "You shouldn't tire yourself reading all those big books, you could get extremely tired, so I took them away until you are well enough to read them"

Colin looked upset at this, but Mary batted her eyelashes at him, and gave her best worried, caring look. He finally leaned back.

"Well, what am I supposed to do! I am bored!"

Mary fluffed his pillows. "I am very sorry that you are bored, but you are not well enough to do anything. You need to get plenty of rest from sleep, and you need to keep taking those medicines that Dr. Morris gave you. Pretty soon, you'll be perfectly well." Mary stood up.

Colin groaned, and turned away from her. Mary sat down and rubbed his back until he fell asleep. When he did, Mary smiled. Her plan was going perfectly. Colin would hate being 'ill' so much, that he would have to stop acting so childish in order to be 'well', and until then, Mary would be the best nurse he had ever had, making certain that he took all his 'medicines', ate all his meals, and didn't do anything that might 'tire him out'.

She had one of the maids help her bring a cot and sheets into the bedroom, so that she would never have to leave Colin's side for a moment, and so he wouldn't be able to not take medicines, eat any good food, or be able to do anything nice.

Mary changed into her nightclothes and went to sleep finally, hoping that her plan would continue to work tomorrow.

**How did you all like Mary's plan? PLEASE REVIEW! I had a hard time figuring this chapter out, and what Mary's plan would be, but it came to me last night, and I wrote it today, I hope you like it This is actually the longest chapter I have written in ANY of my story's so far. so, until next time, BYE! Li Li **


	5. hope's failed plan

**Okay, I know that I haven't updated, again, but I hope that you like this chapter, so, ENJOY!**

Mary's plan seemed to work for the next couple days, with Colin getting more sick of being sick. Everyday he would force down the 'special' meal, almost throw up his 'medicines', and suffer with boredom. During that time, Mary kept up her 'caring nurse' look, and made certain that Colin kept up all things to make him feel 'better'. Everyday Colin looked like he just wanted to really become sick because that would be better then now.

Mary was very pleased with herself, and her plan, so she decided to go take a walk outside to reward herself, since she had be forced to stay in Colin's room all the time to keep a eye on him. She was sniffing a flower when Martha came running out to her.

"Oh, miss Mary, come quickly. Colin is having one of his fits again, and we are all very worried about him".

Mary sighed. She was gone for two minutes, and Colin starts fussing. She didn't understand him. She followed Martha up to Colin's room, and Mary found him on his bed screaming. When he saw her, he settled down a bit, and stopped yelling.

Mary marched up to him "What is wrong?"

Colin looked at her. "I am no longer sick anymore."

Mary smiled slightly on the outside, but inside she was jumping for joy. Colin had finally stopped pretending to be sic, so now he might actually becoming more mature again. She knew her plan would work!

"That is wonderful! I am so happy that you are well." Mary smiled fully.

But Colin had more to say "I am no longer sick, but I still can not get out of bed. My back is feeling bad, and I don't want to worsen it, and my legs feel sore, so I can not get out of bed, or I might injure them. I feel that I may be disabled, so you all are to continue to care for me until I feel well again."

Martha and the other servants that were there nodded, and then left, but Mary stood there with her mouth wide open. Colin was no longer sick but he was disabled?! She was stunned. She had not thought that Colin would be so immature and selfish that he would change from sickness to disabled.

She finally closed her mouth, but then she just glared at Colin, while he picked up a book and started to read. He looked up.

"What? If you want to be helpful you can get me a cup of tea."

Mary shook her head. "No, you can have someone else get you tea, because I'm through with pampering you and taking care of you like I am your mother, I'm not. I am your wife. We took vows to love each other till the day we die, and I have a feeling that you are not keeping your promise very well. If you want someone to halp you then have one of the maids do it, cause I'm done." Mary spun on her heal and stomped over to the door, but then turned around.

"Oh, and if I don't talk to you again for awhile, don't be surprised." She opened the door and ran back to her bedroom. She fell on her bed, and just laid there, not being able to cry because she was so angry.

She had thought that she could get Colin to become the nice, kind, loving husband that she had married, but she had been wrong. She didn't have anymore plans to get him to drop his childish, selfish ways, but she hadn't. She had only been able to achieve getting him to move from one lie to another. She didn't know what to do now. She just sat there, with tears finally being able to fall down her cheeks, thinking of all the good times she had with Colin when he was his old self. She missed those times, and really wished that she could have those kind of times again.

She sat there, but then her brain kicked in. She sat up. Maybe she did have a plan. She would need to think more, and remember more of her old memories with Colin, but if she could do that, then she would be able to maybe convince him that he really did love her, and that he wanted to go back to his old self.

She spent the rest of the day remembering until she finally fell asleep.

**I know that this was short, but I needed to put something on. PLEASE REVIEW, and I will hopefully be able to update someday. Until then, bye. Li Li**


	6. memories of hope

**Hi everyone, I am sorry for not updating enough, but I hope that you all like this story, ENJOY!**

The next day, while Mary was helping the cook figure out what to make for the next week, she started thinking about when Colin and she used to eat dinner together, in the dining room or sometimes in the garden:

"_Race you to the swing!" Colin shouted as he raced through the gardens, dodging various weeds that were slowly growing in his path. _

"_I'm going to get you Colin!" Mary was right at his heels, and gaining, even though she was carrying a picnic basket full of food. _

_When they both arrived at the door to the secret garden, Colin opened it, but was pushed out of the way by Mary, who sped past him, through the garden, and then sat down on the swing. Colin ran after her, but she was already sitting contentedly, smiling innocently as Colin stop to catch a much needed breath. _

_Mary smiled at him. She loved racing Colin, it made her feel like they were still ten year old children, instead of two married eighteen year old's. She slowly looked around her, admiring the garden's beauty. Colin and she had tried to keep the garden beautiful, but they sometimes could only work on it for maybe half an hour. But the garden also seemed to work hard to keep it's beauty, too, always allowing it's flowers to wander about, but crushing any weeds that tried to invade. It made Mary smile._

_When she turned around again, she noticed that Colin had stopped breathing heavily and was now watching her, a large grin, on his face._

"_What are you staring at?" Mary asked._

_Colin shook his head, "Nothing, I'm just so happy that you are my wife now." With that he leaned down and kissed her. _

_Mary smiled when he pulled away. Even though she and Colin had only been married for two and a half week's, she felt as though they had been married forever. She hoped that they would always keep their child like fun, always racing each other, and that they wouldn't suddenly realize that they were not being proper. _

_Mary reached down and started unpacking the picnic basket, enjoying the smell of fresh baked bread and cupcakes. She and Colin spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden, talking and pulling weeds._

Mary sighed. She remembered always thinking that she and Colin would be happy, and here she was now, ttying to get Colin to stop and acting childish and start becoming the man she loved again.

When she was finally finished helping the cook, she walked back up to her bedroom. When she got there, she opened her closet, trying to figure out what to wear tomorrow since she didn't have anything else to do.

While looking, she had another memory

"_What do you think of this one?" Mary stood in front of Colin, who was laying on the bed. He studied her, but then shook his head._

"_I think the pink makes you look like you are a tall five year old." _

_Mary sighed. She had been trying on dresses for about an hour now, trying to figure out what to wear for the grand dinner that Colin's father was holding, and Colin did not like any of the dresses she had. She was trying to look good in order to impress some new people who were visiting Colin's father from London. _

_Mary walked behind her changing screen and put on another dress, this time a green and red one. When she walked out, Colin shook his head._

"_It makes you look like you are going to a Christmas party, and it is only April!" _

_Mary sighed, and then walked over to her closet. _

"_Well, I have nothing else to wear that would be appropriate for a dinner paryty, inless you have any ideas."_

"_Actually, I do." Colin stood up, walked over to his desk and pulled out a large brown package from one of the drawers._

"_Here, I think that this would be perfect." Mary slowly opened it and gasped. It was a gorgeous dark blue dress, with gold trim all the way around the neck, cuffs and hem. She looked at it closely, not wanting to damage it, until Colin spoke up, "Well go try it on, it won't break, I promise."_

_Mary gave Colin a hug, and then eagerly put the dress on, spinning in front of Colin when she was down. _

_She loved the dress. She made her look slim, but also made you look at her eyes. She gave Colin a hug, and then kissed him, trying to tell him how happy she was. _

_That evening, all the guests stared at Mary in amazement when she walked in on Colin's arm. Mary smiled at all of them, but they just stared at her._

Mary ran her hand along that very dress, tears slowly coming to her eyes. She had always loved that dress, always wearing it to balls and such, but after Colin and started acting mean, she had put it in the back of her closet, not wearing it again. She closed her closet door and got ready for bed.

She just wanted to forget some of her memories, even though she thought that she had had a plan, but she decided that it wouldn't work.

Colin was just so selfish, mean and stubborn, that she would never be able to convince him to fall in love with her again. So now, she just went about her day, taking care of the servants, making sure that everything was working properly, not going near Colin's bedroom at all.

Mary knew that she would need to face him eventually, but not today. Maybe someday, but defiantly not today.

**I hope you liked this chapter, and yes, I know that I had written in the last chapter about Mary making another plan, but I decided against it. Remember, I am still just making this up as I go along, but PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU! Li Li**


	7. Readying hope

**I know that I haven't updated in awhile, but here is the next chapter, ENJOY!**

Mary woke up the next morning to find Martha searching through her closet and pulling out various pieces of clothing.

"Martha, what in the world are you doing?"

Martha looked over at her. "Ah, Miss Mary, I am glad that you are up. We need to find that dress that Mr. Colin bought you, and see if it needs any cleaning of any kind. Then we need to have you take a bath, and then get all your accessories together."

"Wait, what? Why do I need to do all that?"

"Why, Miss Mary, don't you remember? Today is the harvest time ball. It starts at six, so we have to get busy."

Martha finally found what she was looking for, and pulled out the dress that Colin had bought Mary. She started to inspect it, and when she was satisfied, she laid it at the end of Mary's bed.

"I am not going."

Martha looked at her. "Why, Miss Mary, what do you mean? You have to go. It is your job as the lady of the house to go to such social events."

"So? I don't want to go to show off for Colin. I would rather eat dirt."

Martha sighed and sat down beside Mary. "Now, Miss Mary, I know that you and Colin have hit a bit of a rough patch in your marriage, and that you are not talking to him now, but this ball could be good for you. It will get you out of the house, and you will be able to socialize with people other then me and the rest of the servants. You need to get out of the house, and going to a ball might be fun for you. Now," Martha stood up and started to smooth out her dress, "it would also be a shame to waste this beautiful dress by not showing it off to other people."

Mary smiled at her. She really did need to get out of the house and away from Colin for at least a night, and she really did want to wear her new dress. Finally she nodded and let Martha get her ready.

The rest of the day, Mary took a bath, tried on her dress to make sure it still fit, had her hair put up in so many different hairstyles by Martha that she lost track of how many, spent a long time trying to figure out which accessories would match her dress, then practicing her dancing real quick to make certain that she still remembered how, and when she passed both Martha and Mrs. Medlock's critical eyes, Martha led her to Colin's room to show him how she looked.

Mary was dreading this part. She didn't want to face Colin now, but he needed to see her for one final inspection.

When she walked in, Colin was lying in bed, as usual, writing something on paper. He looked up when she came in, and motioned for her to stand in front of him. She did, and she watched as he looked at her from head to toe, making Mary blush slightly at him looking at her so closely.

He then had her turn around slowly, which she did, then he gave her one final look and nodded his approval and went back to writing. Mary knew that the inspection was over, and that she could finally leave, but she felt like she wanted Colin to say something, anything really, about how she looked. She remembered how he used to compliment her on everything she wore, even her night gowns.

Mary waited for a few moments, but then sighed and left.

She walked outside to find the driver and her carriage waiting for her. As they rode along, Mary stared out the window, taking in all the beautiful scenery that she had not looked at for a long time. When they finally arrived at the Marker mansion where the ball was being held, many people were entering the mansion, all dressed up extremely well.

Mary sighed one last time, before allowing her driver to help her out, then looked at all the rich people around outside, people she would normally never hang out with, but whom she was now going to spend the entire evening with. She put on her best face, and bravely entered the mansion.

**How did you all like this chapter? I remembered that I forgot to mention the ball, which I had mentioned in the second chapter, so I knew that I had to write this. I don't really know what will happen the next chapter, but hopefully my weird mind will cook up something cool. Review please, and until next time, BYE! Li Li**


	8. Agreement to hope

**I hope you all like this, and keep in mind that this just showed up in my head, so it is REALLY weird, be warned! ENJOY!**

Mary walked into the ball room, feeling slightly out of place with all these rich people, who were chatting amongst themselves. She knew that she should join them, but she didn't know anyone, so she did the only thing she could think of, and walked over to the table overflowing with food to get a drink.

As she sipped her punch, a man and women came up to her. The man had blond hair, and wore a blue suit made of silk, while the women also had blond hair and wore a blue silk dress.

The women spoke first. "Ah, you must be Mary Carver, from Misselthwaite. My name is Angela Thomas, and this is my brother Henry Thomas."

The man nodded. "How do you do."

Mary greeted them both, and then Angela spoke again. "I am so happy to see that you are well, I heard that you all were sick. But where is your husband, Colin? Shouldn't he be here?"

"Well, his back hasn't been feeling very well, so he is staying in bed." Mary hated to use Colin's excuse, but she couldn't think of anything. Angela nodded.

"Oh, that is too bad. Well, you are welcome to dance with my brother if you wish, I happen to have my dancing card full, so I must be off." And with that, Angela walked off to find the first man to be her dance partner.

Henry turned to Mary. "Don't mind my sister, she is always very bold. I am sorry to hear about your husband, but if you could tell him that I wish to speak with him as soon as possible, I would be very grateful."

Mary nodded and then Henry left to go dance also. Mary stood by the food table, feeling very left out as she watched all the men and women spin and twirl around the dance floor. It was about an hour and a half later when Angela came up to Mary again.

"Hello again, I couldn't help noticing you here all this time alone, so I thought that I would come and visit you for a bit, my feet are getting sore. I am still stretching out my shoes." Angela sat down on a chair and smoothed out her dress and continued.

"I am sorry to hear about the troubles you have been having at your home, with all the money problems and all."

Mary looked at her. "What money troubles? We are fine, we have plenty of money."

'That is not what my brother says. He told me that your father-in-law owes my father quite a bit of money, that is why he is in America, to try and find more clients to for his business."

Mary stared at her in shock. "What are you talking about? My father-in-law doesn't owe anyone money, he is just looking for more clients to make more money for us, not to pay someone off."

Angela looked at her funny. "Then I guess your father-in-law hasn't told you about his agreement."

"What agreement?"

"Why, the agreement that he made with my father. You see, if your father-in-law hadn't paid him back with in a year, my brother and I would move onto Misselthwaite and take over the money books. That way my brother would be able to find a way that you would be able to pay us back by taking any extra money, and then when we are paid in full, we will leave, but if we can't be paid back in another year, then we would take Misselthwaite estate, and you would all be forced to move. We have this all in writing."

Mary was having a hard time breathing now. Why would her uncle be so stupid and borrow money, and not tell anyone about such a horrible agreement? She didn't like this girl, but she suddenly had a question.

"How long until you must move into my home?"

"Why, we are moving in next week, didn't Colin tell you?"

"Why would Colin know anything?"

Angela stared at Mary, but then her face broke into a smirk. "You mean that Colin hasn't told you anything? Why, he is the one who owes us most of the money, the rest your father-in-law owes. Colin agreed to this agreement also. I am very surprised that you don't know anything. I guess you are just out of the loop. Good night."

And with that, Angela once again sailed out onto the dance floor, leaving behind a very confused and shocked Mary behind. Colin owed money too? He had always shown her the money books, even having her help with some numbers, well, until he started acting strangely. Now two complete strangers were moving into Mary's home? She had to find a way to pay them back without them taking over the money books and taking all the extra money that normally was saved or used to buy a couple special things.

Mary didn't want to stay at the ball any longer, so she found her driver and left, knowing that she now had a big job to do.

**How did you all like it? Please review and tell me what you think, thanks! Li Li**


	9. A small light of hope

**ENJOY! And please review!**

Mary stormed through the door of her home, anger flowing through her. While she was on her carriage ride, she had suddenly realized what an idiot Colin was, and how angry she was at him. The servants seemed to sense that and had stayed out of her path as she went to Colin's room.

She shoved the door open, not knocking, and headed straight towards Colin, who was still laying on his bed writing.

He looked up when she came in. "What are you doing in her? I thought that the ball went on for much longer then this. You should go back there."

"Don't," Mary told, seething, "tell me what to do. I was at the ball and happened to meet a very interesting girl by the name of Angela Thomas, and her brother, Henry."

Colin avoided eye contact with her and said. "Oh, that's interesting. I hope you had a good time with them."

"Oh, I had a good time with them, especially Angela, but she told me the strangest story about how you and your father owe her family a great deal of money, and how you made an agreement with them that if you didn't pay them back in a year, that Angela and Henry would move in with us and take all our extra-non-essential money and use it to pay off the debt."

Colin opened his mouth to speak, but Mary held her hand up. "Don't speak, I am not finished. See, Angela said that it has been a year, and you still haven't paid off your debt, so they will be moving in next week. Isn't it wonderful, Colin, we get to have some new house guests for a while."

Colin looked down, sighed, and then spoke. "I know that you must be very upset right now, but I wasn't thinking when I borrowed the money. My father and I needed money, so we asked them to help us. Father needed less, since he moved to America, but I needed a little bit extra to make ends meet while he was gone."

"And were you thinking when you signed the contract, Colin, hm? Were you?"

Colin shook his head. "No, I guess I wasn't. I thought that with the money father was going to make in America that it would be enough, but time passed and we forgot about the agreement. We have given them money here and there, but I forgot about the one year contract, until recently. That was why I had you go to the ball alone, so you could show that we still had money and would pay them back soon. I didn't know that Angela and Henry would confront you about it, but I guess they are more bold then I thought."

Colin looked up at Mary. "I am sorry that you had to find out like this."

Mary looked at Colin, her anger slowly going away. "But Colin, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to be worried about it. I wanted you to continue being happy, and not have to worry about debts and payments."

"But Colin," Mary said as she sat down on the bed, "that is what marriage is all about, not keeping secrets like that from each other. We need to be open and honest with each other about everything, money included, because when spouses hide things from each other it creates tension and anger, like what has just happened to us. Please tell me about everything that goes on with the money books, and if we are in trouble, tell about it so we can work through this together, please?"

Colin nodded and sighed. "I guess I will have the servants prepare two rooms for our new guests."

Mary nodded, and then stood up. "I should go to bed now, it is getting late. Well, good night."

"Good night." Colin answered.

Mary walked back to her room, changed and climbed into bed, suddenly very tired from her long day.

She decided that she didn't like the situation that she was in, but she could make do. And to make matters a little bit better, Colin had talked to her she was his wife, instead of a possession for the first time in months, so all in all, that made up for it.

She then fell asleep, dreaming of a time when she and Colin were in the garden.

**How did you all like this?! I have been busy, so I haven't been able to update in awhile, but I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, no matter how short. I hope you liked how I made Colin nicer this time. Maybe they are falling back in love, hmm:) Well, till next time, BYE! Li Li**


	10. New guests for hope

**Hi again! Sorry for not updating sooner, but ENJOY!**

Over the next couple of days, Mary spent her time getting two guest rooms ready, talking to the servants about why these strange people were moving in, and basically preparing herself for having to deal with Angela and her rude behavior.

Then, the dreaded day arrived.

Angela and Henry arrived at 9 in the morning, with two carriages, one carrying themselves, the other carrying their things, or actually Angela's clothes.

They came inside, and Mary greeted them, with the best fake smile she could muster.

"Hello, welcome to Misselthwaite manor."

Henry nodded to Mary, but Angela glanced around herself with distaste. "Why would Father want this place? It is very shabby and dark, not at all like our home. If I had known what condition this place was in, I would never have agreed to staying here. But, oh well."

Mary glared at Angela with her eyes, but then thankfully Martha stepped in and took their small suitcases, while Mary took the hint and showed them to their rooms.

Henry nodded at his room, then asked to be shown the study where the money books were kept, so Mary had one of the maids show him, while she made sure that Angela was comfortable.

Angela ran her hand along the top of one of her side tables, then sighed. "This is defiantly not like my real room at my home, mine is much bigger and filled with newer furniture and such. But, I suppose I will have to make do, won't I, Mary?"

Mary gave a quick nod then excused herself, not wanting to be around Angela anymore, but when she got to the door, Angela said. "Where is Colin, shouldn't he be here to greet his new house guests?"

Mary sighed then turned back to Angela. "Colin is not feeling very well right now, so the doctor has ordered that he stay in bed and not do any activities that might wear him out. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go see to your brother."

And with that, Mary left.

She found Henry in the study, looking over the most recent money books.

Mary stepped forward. "Have you found anything that might be useful to you?"

Henry looked up. "No, not yet. I did notice that you don't have a very big budget for new clothes or other luxuries such as that."

Mary nodded. "I don't really like having to try on new clothes, especially when the ones I already have are perfectly fine, so I only go shopping when I really need new clothes."

Henry chuckled. "Well, you are defiantly not like my sister. She has a huge amount of money that Father gives her for clothes, and she still asks for more. I find it silly, but I don't say anything to Father about it, it's not my money."

Henry picked up his book again and continued reading.

Mary left him to it and went to help the cook make dinner.

* * *

After dinner that night, which Angela constantly criticized, Mary made her way to the study again, to see if Henry needed anything.

She found him amongst a large pile of old money books, with a look of deep thought, but he looked up when she came in.

"Do you need anything before I retire for the evening?"

Henry shook his head. 'No, I am fine. I had one of the maids bring me a cup of tea, but now I really need to focus on figuring out what money I can put towards your debt."

"And have you found anything yet?"

Again, Henry shook his head. "No, not yet. You all seem to spend your money very wisely. You get some money, and then you budget it into different areas, like the servants paychecks, food, oil for lamps, food for your animals, and a tiny amount for clothes and nice items, and then everything else gets put into various investments, accounts, that sort of thing. I see that I can't take any money from your budgets, that is money you need, but I can't seem to figure out how to get money from your investments or accounts."

"Why not?"

"Because your father-in-law stated in the contract that you signed that we were not allowed to take any money from those sorts of things, because he wanted to make certain that those things were not touched, but I don't see any other way you can pay us off in time without taking money from those things."

Mary nodded, not sure why Mr. Carver would do that, but then excused herself and made her way up to Colin's room.

When she go there, she knocked on the door, and when she heard an answer, she went in. Colin lay on his bed, sipping some tea, but he put it down when she came in.

"Well, how are our house guests?"

Mary sat down on the edge of the bed. "They are doing fine. Henry hasn't found any extra money that we don't really need that he can use to pay off the debt, and Angela, well, she is extremely rude."

Colin chuckled. "She always has been. I wouldn't worry about Henry, he is a good man so he will find some way of helping us, but I would focus on Angela, she can sometimes cause trouble just to cause drama and make her life exciting."

Mary nodded at that, then said good night to Colin and went to bed.

**Did you like it, huh, huh? I am sorry for not updating, but I hope this was a good chapter, so PLEASE REVIEW and let me know, THANKS! Li Li**


	11. Crushing hope

**Holy cow, I haven't updated in like a month, almost!!!!!!!! My mind has not been working, and my other stories have suffered the same fate, so don't feel left behind. I hope you all like this chapter, so ENJOY!**

Mary walked slowly through the gardens, heading towards her secret garden. Angela and Henry had been living with Mary for about a week and a half now, and it was very miserable.

Henry still couldn't find ANY extra money for the debts, and he was now currently going to send a letter to Mr. Carver asking him if Henry could divert some money from investments to the debt, so Henry had been busy with that.

Angela, on the other hand, was the most annoying person Mary had ever met. Even Colin looked sweet when he was at his worst. She constantly complained about EVERYTHING: Her clothes, her room, the food, the servants, the weather, the smells, everything. Several times Mary was tempted to smack Angela with a chair, but Mary always escaped to the secret garden when she felt like that, and she always came out calmer, or at least not wanting to hit Angela at that moment.

As Mary continued to walk, she inhaled the sweet smells of flowers, filling her very soul with thoughts of nature. Mary was always calm when she came out here. Finally, Mary came to the secret door. First she looked around to make certain that she was alone, then opened the door and entered.

The garden was empty of people, but filled with nature. All the flowers had bloomed, making the place magical. Mary walked over to the swing and sat down, happy.

Mary also had another reason to be happy then. Colin was changing. Ever since Henry and Angela had moved in, he had started to be less needy, had actually gotten out of bed a couple times, although he still never left his room, and he actually was nice to Mary.

They both had long talks in the evenings, mostly about books and the garden, but sometimes they talked about themselves, and how they should start spending more time together as a couple. Mary was VERY pleased with this new revelation, so she now enjoyed her evenings with Colin. She felt like she and Colin were finally going back to the loving couple they used to be.

After a while of sitting out in the garden, Mary got up to leave, but as she was about to head off, her eye caught something in the dirt, under a group of daisies. Mary leaned down and picked the object up, and her heart skipped a beat.

It was the necklace that Colin had given her a long time ago, before all this madness. It was the one she had lost but Colin had said that their love would never be lost, and now here Mary found it again.

Mary smiled. This had to be a sign that things between herself and Colin were about to get better, and that things would eventually go back to normal.

Mary brushed the dirt off, then hooked the chain around her neck. Wait till Colin heard about this.

* * *

Mary headed towards Colin's room, taking the back way through the kitchen, when Martha all of the sudden stopped her.

"Why miss Mary, where did you find that piece of jewelry?"

"Oh this, Colin gave it to me after we were married. I thought I had lost it in the garden, but Colin said that even if the necklace was lost, our love would never be, so I forgot about it, but today I saw it under some flowers in the garden, so I am off to show Colin."

Mary tried to push past Martha, but Martha held her back.

"Miss Mary, I don't know why Colin told you all that, but I have seen that necklace in the procession of someone else, and it was meant for you."

Mary gave Martha an odd look. "Who?"

Martha sighed then took a deep breath, and said. "Dickon."

Mary was certain her heart stopped at that very second.

Dickon had gotten it for her, but how? Colin had given it to her, so how could Colin have gotten it from Dickon?

Martha spoke again. 'Dickon had gotten it for you for your birthday, but then he went off to war, and left in Colin's care, telling him to take care of it until Dickon returned, but he never did, so Colin must have decided to give it to you as a gift from himself instead."

Mary looked at the necklace. So Colin had stolen the necklace form Dickon. How could he? That was the most disgraceful thing Colin had ever done, and Mary had actually be happy about it.

Tears started to fill Mary's eyes, so she turned and ran out to the garden, not caring about anything, not thinking. She just knew that she had to get away to a place that never changed, that never hated her, that she could trust.

But when Mary got to the door, she saw that it was slightly open, so Mary thought someone must be in there, but as Mary opened it so she could go inside, she saw no one in there, but she did see something else.

Destruction.

The beautiful garden that Mary had left just a little bit ago was now in ruins. Flowers were pulled out, and then crushed. Trees had some of their branches cut off, and their bark lying around. The grass had even been dug up with a shovel.

Mary looked at everything, and wondered who could have done this. Who would ruin such a wonderful place?

As Mary looked around, memories flashed through her mind. When she had first found the garden, when she had first met Dickon and Colin, when she and Dickon had worked on the garden together, when Colin had taken his first steps in the garden, her wedding here. Everything went through her head, and she felt as though all those memories had been ripped apart by whoever had ripped apart the garden.

Mary couldn't think, so she did the only thing she could do, turn around and head back to the house, to get some questions that badly needed answers.

**Aw man, poor Mary, everything was going so well until I had to ruin it for her. Well, don't you readers worry, everything will work out in the end, which I actually think is getting close. It may be a few chapters away still, but it is time to get things wrapped up, so until next chapter, BYE! Li Li**


	12. Hope's confession and culprit

SORRY again for not updating, but here's the next chapter! ENJOY!

Mary stormed through the house and up to Colin's bedroom. When she came in, Colin was sitting in front of the fire, reading a book, but he looked up when Mary came in.

"Oh, hello Mary, what are you doing here?"

Mary glared at Colin. "Why did you do it Colin?"

"Do what?"

Mary took a deep breath. "Why did you take the necklace that was supposed to be from Dickon and give it to me?"

Colin's jaw dropped, then went up, then dropped again. He cleared his throat. "Now Mary, you have to understand, after we all heard that Dickon had died in the war, I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't want to just keep it in some old box to gather dust, I thought that you deserved it. So, I gave it to you."

Mary stared at Colin in disbelief. "But why didn't you tell me that it was from Dickon instead of lying to me about it?"

Colin heaved a large sigh. "I was planning on telling you that it was from Dickon, but whenever someone mentioned his name, you almost burst into tears, and I knew that if you knew that Dickon had planned on giving you that necklace that you would have been even more depressed then you already were, and I wanted to help avoid that."

Colin looked Mary in the eye. "I am truly sorry that you had to find out like this, I just wanted to protect you, that's all."

Mary thought about all this for a moment. Colin was right, if Mary had known the truth she probably wouldn't have gotten out of her depression, she might still be a little depressed now. But as Mary looked down at the necklace, she realized that now she was past that phase, she could truly enjoy the necklace because it was from Dickon now.

Mary gave Colin a small smile, which was returned. Then Mary sat down on the floor beside Colin and they just sat there looking at each other.

But the moment was broken as Mary remembered the other question she needed answered.

"Colin, have you been out to the garden recently?"

Colin shook his head. "No, why? Are the flowers blooming? Because if they are, I want to go see them."

Mary sighed. "No, the flowers aren't blooming now. They were, but oh Colin! Someone broke into the garden and completely ruined it! All the flowers have been pulled up, the tree's bark has even been pulled down!"

Colin looked at her in shock. "What? But, how can anybody do that? I mean, yes we have given everyone permission to go into the garden, but nobody would destroy it like that."

Mary thought about this. She didn't know anyone who would be so horrible, except...

Mary shot up straight.

"Angela!"

Colin looked at her. "Angela? But how? She doesn't know where the garden is."

'I know, but she could have found out from one of the servants, they all know. Oh Colin, I know she is the one. She is a very horrible person, so maybe she just wanted to create drama, just like you said."

Colin shook his head. "I know what I said, but Angela is not so horrible that she would destroy a garden just to create some drama."

Mary sunk back down to the floor. Maybe Colin was right. But then whom else could it be?

Just then, Martha came in, carrying a tea tray. She looked at the couple. "Well, I would hope that you two have sorted things out."

Mary and Colin nodded, but with very sad faces on.

"Why, whatever is the matter? I would hope that you two aren't still on that necklace, it's not worth having an unhappy marriage over."

"No Martha, it's not the necklace." Mary said. "Someone broke into the garden and destroyed everything. We just can't figure out who it could be."

Martha's jaw dropped. "Oh my, if that isn't the saddest thing I've heard in a long time. I can't possibly think of any of the other servants who would do that. Although..."

Colin perked up. "Although what?"

Martha bit her lip, then answered. "A couple days ago Miss Angela asked if there was anything to do around here, and I told her that we hd some lovely gardens that she could walk around in, but I don't think that she ever went to them. But I do remember Mr. Henry also asking about the gardens, and then I saw him walk out there."

Mary and Colin's hearts both stopped. Henry was the culprit?! But, why? And how? That was something that they all intended to find out.

**WOW I have no idea where that all came from. I had planned on Angela being the culprit, but as I got writing, I decided to add a twist, so I picked Henry instead. Again, my mind making things up as I go along. Well, see ya next chapter, BYE! Li Li**


	13. When hope survives

**HELLO WORLD! I am oh so sorry for not updating, AGAIN, in forever, but sadly, this is the last story, so you all will not have to deal with my bad updating habits. PLEASE REVIEW, and ENJOY!!!**

Mary and Colin marched down the hall towards the library, looking for Henry. When they came to the door, they went in and found Henry sitting at the desk reading one of the moneys books, but he looked up when they came in.

"Oh, hello." He said. Colin walked up to him and glared at him.

"Why did you do it?" Colin asked.

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Why did I do what?"

Mary stood beside Colin. "Why did you destroy the garden?"

Henry calmly closed the book and looked at them. "Now why do you think that I would destroy some garden, hm? What motive would I have?"

Mary opened her mouth, but then closed it. She had never thought about why Henry would do it, she just knew he did it.

Henry looked at both of them, then smiled, leaned back in his chair and continued to read.

Just then, Angela burst in the door, and ran up to Henry. "Henry, did you find it? I asked the servants about it but none of them know anything about what I'm talking about."

Colin folded his arms across his chest. "What are you looking for Angela?"

Angela spun around, suddenly aware that Mary and Colin were in the room. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if Henry had found my, um, thing that I had lost, that's all."

Angela glanced at Henry, who was glaring at her by then.

Mary turned to Henry. "Henry, what have you been looking for? Was it something in the garden by any chance?"

Henry opened his mouth, but close it again, not sure what to say. Finally, he sighed and stood up. "All right, I'll tell you. When my father and your father made the deal, my father knew that if your father didn't keep his part of the deal, that my father would be able to take the hidden money that your father told him about."

Colin tilted his head. "What hidden money? My father doesn't have any hidden money. All his money is in the bank."

Henry looked at Colin. "I am talking about the money that your grandfather buried away in one of your gardens, hiding it away in case of an emergency."

Colin thought for a moment, then burst out laughing. Everyone stared at Colin for about 5 minutes as he continued to laugh his head off.

Finally he was able to stop, and said. "That money? One of the gardeners found that about a year ago, after my father had gone to America. I didn't know what to do with it, so I just put all the money into a savings account. I forgot about it until now, but I guess there's enough money in it to pay your father off, so you and your sister can leave."

Henry's mouth hung open, while Angela just stared at Colin. Finally, Henry and Angela slowly left the room, leaving Colin and Mary alone.

Mary turned to Colin. "Oh, Colin, why didn't you tell me about hidden money?"

Colin shrugged. "I guess I just forgot about it, it never seemed that important."

Mary smiled. "Well, I'm just glad that we don't have to live with Henry and Angela anymore, they were both getting annoying."

Colin nodded, then leaned against the desk and became very serious. "Mary, I ave not had the chance to do this, but, would you forgive me for acting foolish recently? I can't imagine what it was like to have to put up with me for so long."

Mary put her hand on Colin's shoulder. "Oh Colin, of course I forgive you, I love you."

"I love you to." Colin slowly leaned in, and kissed Mary, who, of course, kissed back.

* * *

**Epilogue.**

Mary sat down in the grass of the garden and started to unpack the picnic.

After Henry and Angela left, Colin was able to pay their father with the money that was hidden. After that was all settled, Mr. Carver came back from America and was now happily enjoying his home.

Mary and Colin's relationship was back to the way it was, with them both enjoying being a couple, which made Mary very happy.

When Mary was done with the picnic, she reached up to her neck and touched the necklace that was meant from Dickon, but who was given by Colin, and opened it. Mary had put a small picture of Colin and a picture of Dickon in it, to remind her of her two favorite men.

Just then, Colin came running into the garden, with a small girl in his arms.

He sat down next to Mary, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then set the girl down between them, so they could enjoy the picnic in the once again magical garden.

The girl was their daughter, Hope.

**WOW! My first story finished!!!!! Yeah, I can actually finish story's !!!!!!!!!! Now, a thank you to all my reviewers:**

**Innocent Narcissa**: Thank you for the two nice reviews, and for being the first person to review my story! (You have earned my **First Reviewer** award)

**Dark Secret1**: Thanks for the kind one review, and I hope you like how this story turned out.

**disneyqueen**: WOW!! 8 reviews!!! You have won my **Most Reviews** award, and my **First for Favorites** award (since you're the only one to put my story on your faves list)

**NekoNoHaru**: Thanks for the review! I hope you liked my story!

**sailormoon1982**: I have only seen the 1993 version, but my parents say the other ones are better.

**Elyzia**: I hope you liked this story, and thank you for reviewing!

**Okay, I probably won't have another story in Secret Garden for a LONG time, but I do hope that everyone who read this story enjoyed it.**

**Until I write again, Li Li**


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